Trauma-informed Design Credentialing Course
Available Fall 2025
This course is an intensive emersion into the TiD Framework and how to apply it to real-world projects. Participants will learn about the Trauma-informed Design (TiD) Framework, the full scope of trauma, and why it matters in design. Participants will practice communicating through visualizations, as well and spoken and written means, about Trauma-informed Design. This theory-into-practice applied approach will investigate how TiD design can be applied to any design project, at any scale, and the benefits that may ensue. Participants will be expected to justify their choices using the TiD Framework throughout the course.
Course Details and Objectives:
Level: Beginner
Duration: 16 weeks
Instructors: Janet Roche and Christine Cowart
Participants: Up to 20
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Upon Successful completion of this course, participants will have:
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​Explored the Trauma-informed Design Framework and how TiD is applying the principles of trauma-informed care to design. This will include seeing TiD as design for health with an equity lens, and explore how to anticipate potential triggers and implement design features and elements that mitigate stress through case-study precedents.
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Discussed the wide range of applications for Trauma-informed Design.
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Gained experience applying the TiD Framework to a theoretical design project.
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Developed an understanding of importance of a trauma-informed approach to the design process, including population research, participatory design, and the use of inclusive, affirming language.
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Learned about the full scope of trauma, including historical, structural, and collective trauma, and how experiencing inequities can have the same negative impacts on a person’s long-term health outcomes as other traumas.
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Identified the biological responses that can occur in the human body as a result of trauma and toxic stress levels, as well as the wider possible health impacts of trauma on individuals, communities, and beyond.
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Understand the concepts of trauma-informed care, based in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) six key principles of a trauma-informed approach.​​
​​​By enrolling in this course, participants agree to abide by a community agreement that governs interactions throughout the course.
Course Overview
Session 1: Trauma and Its Impacts
In order to design for trauma, we have to understand it. This session will explore the full scope of what trauma is, explain the concept of toxic stress and how stress relates to trauma, and introduce statistics related to the prevalence of trauma in our society. It will then explore the effects and symptoms of having experienced trauma.​
Session 2: Trauma-Informed Care
This session will introduce the concepts of resilience and trauma-informed care, grounded in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Six Key Principles of a Trauma-Informed Approach.
Session 3: Trauma-informed Design
Session 3 will introduce the Trauma-informed Design Framework. Participants will conduct a field observation and select a type of design they wish to focus on for their research and design project.
Session 4: Population Matters: Designing for the Specific Culture and Characteristics of Users
Trauma-informed design is based on the culture and characteristics of the people who will be using the space. This session will introduce how designers can take the needs of specific populations into consideration when creating spaces, including survivors, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and individuals who are neurodiverse. Participants will research, write, and submit a paper on the population of users for their chosen TiD project.
Session 5: Sphere 1 and Trauma-informed Design Case Studies
This session will illustrate the key concepts of trauma-informed design through case studies. Participants will work with the concept of engaging property owners and clients regarding their program policies and practices and begin work on their applied TiD project. This will entail identifying a floor plan and beginning initial programming of the space.
Session 6: Sphere 2: Trauma-informed Design Processes
Session 6 will examine why the design process and the language used by designers matters. We will explore the importance of human-centered design and using a trauma-informed approach throughout the process, including when conducting interviews with invested parties. Participants will continue working on their applied TiD project by starting two design boards and check-in with instructors regarding their progress.
Session 7: Looking Ahead: Trauma-informed Design Research
This session will explore the importance of researching and documenting the effects of the environment on stress levels and its effectiveness as a response to trauma. It will also provide an example of a scientific research study in the field, the Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools (TiDEvalK12). Participants will continue working on their applied TiD project and begin creating two additional design boards.
Session 8: Sphere 3: Final Project Completion and Presentations
During this final session, participants will focus on finalizing their applied TiD project. Participants will present their projects for feedback from instructors and others, and will be expected to justify their designs using the TiD Framework. They will then have a chance to make revisions prior to submitting their final projects for a final score.​
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Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be awarded the Bronze-level TiD credential.
Quotes from Previous Participants
[The most valuable things I have learned were] an understanding of how Trauma-informed Design (TiD) can be an important element in reducing stress to the occupants of a building, and a re-framing of TiD as a fluid process, rather than a rigid set of design principles. Perhaps, too, that the process matters just as much as the end result.
​The background and context of Trauma-informed Design (TiD,) such as lessons on understanding trauma and individual case studies, have been very helpful in providing a more robust picture of TiD. The balance between the two instructors experience and teaching styles is also great - one is more big picture and the other is more how to implement TiD - and their enthusiasm for the content and ensuring students can absorb the content is appreciated.
I think I saved every single assigned reading for future reference! Sources were very well-curated. It might also be helpful to assign at least one TiD-related peer reviewed research paper so students can see how it is being researched in the field.